Save the Trees
by asdaw04
Summary: An unlikely pairing but I thought I'd give it a shot! Loosely based on "Middle Man" (S6E7). Also, Feedback would be appreciated :) Warning: Non-sexual spanking of adults. Don't like, don't read yada yada


It was shortly past noon when the team was back on the plane after a successful case. They called it successful because they had managed to save the life of a girl as well as the Sheriff's son. Before leaving, Hotch felt the need to give the Sheriff a word on parenting. Sure, he only had a young _biological_ son under his care, but in reality, he had five other grown ones to look after as well.

Morgan proceeded to videocall Garcia and let her know the outcome of the case. There was often a delay because she wasn't actually on the field, which Morgan figured kept her on her toes.

"Miss me already?" Garcia said, confident it was him. "You know it, babygirl. " Morgan chuckled before debriefing her.

"We caught both kids. The alpha of course went after the girl and after quite a fight he went for suicide by cop, while the sheriff's son tried to kill himself but his dad shot his arm before he got a chance."

"And the woman?"

"Oh, she's fine. Got to see her little girl later in the hospital" Morgan reassured her overly empathetic friend. He was often amused at how much he could overlook for the sake of the case, sometimes forgetting the rawness of each situation.

"I'm so glad everything turned out alright" she said, looking down at her green pen. The dangling things made it impossible to not fidget with it. "Couldn't have done it without you" he told her. He was about to say goodbye when she interrupted again.

"Mogan..." She said softly.

"Ya? Everything alright?"

Emily, sitting across from Morgan, looked up.

"Uh, is Hotch in a good mood?" Garcia asked sheepishly. "Like, from a 1-10, 10 being... smiley?" She inquired.

Morgan glanced back at the Chief Unit, who was having a talk with Reid, or more like listening to Reid ramble on about something. The kid was very attached to the older man and Hotch never had the heart to tell him to be quiet. It was part of who the kid was, to share his knowledge.

Morgan smiled and spoke, "well, given the lack of sleep and the kid talking non-stop in front of him... I'd say a solid 4."

Morgan was about to question her when he finally realized what was troubling his precious damsel.

"Garcia, I don't know what you did but I know it wasn't good. I can try to persuade him but you probably deserve whatever is coming your way." Morgan lectured quietly, trying to not attract the whole team's attention. She whined and though Morgan couldn't see it, she shifted in her seat." I know… but… "She sighed. She had managed to get them tablets, for god's sake! Why couldn't they just be happy? she thought.

"He's never killed any of us, right Em?" Morgan glanced her way and turned the laptop around so that it was facing her. "yeah, if you don't count that one guy. Poor boy, had his whole life ahead of him" Emily joked to Morgan's amusement.

"Babygirl, don't listen to her. I'll give you a heads up before we land, ya?" he told her.

Garcia let out another sigh. "Farewell, my knight in shining armor. You have failed to protect me so I shall bid you farewell on last time, as my death draws near"

Morgan rolled his eyes " _Goodbye,_ Garcia". He was still chuckling at her overly dramatic colleague when he saw Hotch finally make his way to the back of the jet, leaving behind a very worked up Reid.

Both Emily and Morgan shot him a "don't even think about it" glare as they noticed him trying to make his way next to them. Their look would've gotten the message across to anymore, but social cues weren't Reid's strong suit.

"Did you guys know… "he began as he took a seat next to them.

"Uh, nuh uh, Reid. Not happening." Emily cut him off. Before putting his headphones on, Morgan gave him a sympathetic "Sorry, kid". And with no one else to talk to, the young doctor settled back into his seat, pulled out a book and waited for landing.

Penelope Garcia sat anxiously as she awaited her fate. Morgan had told her they'd be in the building soon, but in her current state, a couple of minutes seemed like an eternity. It didn't help that her mind kept going back to the daunting conversation from two days ago.

" _Not that I don't appreciate your efforts, but how exactly did you get funding for this?" Hotch had asked shortly after Garcia had excitedly presented the tablets to her team. "I did a thing" She had said, which was_ _ **true,**_ _she just didn't want to reveal exactly what that "thing" was._

" _a thing?" Hotch had persisted. "let's not talk about the thing, sir" She said politely. She knew she was getting in deep water because everyone seemed amused except for Hotch._

" _We'll talk about the "thing" later" Hotch concluded. She could swear her face had lit up in embarrassment. If her bright red hair wasn't any indication, she loved attention, but not of this nature. And she specially hated being put on the spot like that in front of her family._

Hotch's words resonated with her, and as she sat there, her mind running rampant with all the other ways she wished she could be spending her night, she settled for indulging in an online game instead. Of course, she played on her own personal computer. Hotch had made sure she never used work equipment for entertainment purposes after an unsub used an online game to get to BAU files. That "talk" had been extremely unpleasant but she had learned to keep work and play separate. For the most part.

She promptly shut her computer as she heard steps approaching, and taking a deep breath, spun around only to be pleasantly surprised to see Morgan.

"Derek! I'm so glad it's you"

"What, no cheesy name for your knight in shining armor?" He teased. "Oh, shut up" She snapped, but suddenly was struck with panic.

"Wait. Are you…?" usually, Hotch "talked" to her, not someone else and definitely not Morgan.

"Nooo, silly girl. I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm heading out with J.J and Reid."

"Oh. Alright. Goodbye then and I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. If I make it." She said, mumbling the last part.

"Listen. How many talks do you think we've all had? ... too many to count. And look, I'm still here. Whole." Morgan said, stretching his arms as certain evidence. That made Garcia feel reassured, as she normally did whenever she talked to her platonic love. But her happiness was cut short when she saw Hotch arrive.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, babygirl. 'nite." He told her, and gave a sympathetic look to the Unit Chief before closing the door on his way out.

"Explain" Hotch said flatly, with his hands crossed in front of him and the stare of a hawk. A hawk that's getting ready to tear up its prey, Garcia thought.

Between the unwavering stare and the quiet tone, she found herself rambling, something she had promised herself she wouldn't do, "Well, it's a really funny story, actually".

"Garcia. To the point" He said softly. Hotch always had a soft spot for Garcia, especially because he often felt as if he didn't give her enough credit. She loved Garcia as much as the other agents, but her personality was drastically different from his, and he often found it hard to connect with her.

"Right, okay" She started again. "Well, you see, I uh, came upon this super-duper cool thing during my many adventures in web world and turns out we have an "emergency" fund. But that's not all because within that there's a subdivision for "restoration" purposes… and you can bet that if no one knows about the "emergency" fund then they sure as heck don't know about the "restoration" fund… last time it was used was like, the 90s… so I might've, uh, borrowed from that "restoration" fund because " she suddenly panicked as she realized she didn't actually know how to finish that statement.

"because …I think trees are definitely worth restoring!" She added quickly, hoping that her cause was enough to earn her some sympathy.

Hotch remained unfazed as he spoke again, "Unfortunately, I know you're telling the truth. I say unfortunately because I had to have a lengthy talk with Strauss yesterday about the management of funds and the corresponding parties those belong to. I don't know if you're aware but that doesn't include you. If you have a suggestion to make you come talk to **me**. You don't go behind my back and move money around just because you can. I had to beg Strauss to let me handle this myself, and that was only after I reassured her I had approved the transaction and there had simply been a miscommunication. I would ask how you even managed to get through all the different security checks but I think I'll spare you the trouble. I don't care the details of what you did, but I assure you that this will never happen again." He scolded.

By the feelings in her stomach, she was no longer in her office but rather at the very top of the world's biggest rollercoaster, just before the drop, but Hotch's words brought her back.

"When you do things like this, it makes me look like I can't handle my own unit. You understand that?" Garcia nodded. "This will be the last time we have this talk." He told her.

"Yes, sir" She assured him, finding herself fidgeting with her pen which she had subconsciously reached for.

"Good. Now, I told you we would deal with this situation. I think it's best we do that in my office"

This is what she had been dreading all week. "It won't happen again, sir." She stammered.

"I know it won't. And I don't want to ask you again." He said, opening the door for her. She was already feeling the first wave of tears, and slowly made her way to his office.

Walking much like anyone in her place would, she quietly followed Hotch to his office, passing only Emily, who luckily, happened to be in the elevator; the doors closing before she noticed them. Even luckier was that the whole team seemed to have left, and the bullpen remained vacant.

"Garcia, you went behind my back and meddled with things that were completely off limits for you. You put your work at risk and compromised my own as well. I don't discourage you taking initiative, but you need to communicate, is that clear?" He summarized once they were behind closed doors in his office.

"Yes. I toootally understand that" She reassured him.

"So you know why I'm doing this?" Hotch questioned. She nodded again, eyeing her boss as he reached behind his desk and retrieved a small wooden paddle. To unknowing eyes, the thing could pass for a small cutting board. In fact, it often did when Hotch felt the need to take it on a case.

She watched with resignation as Hotch took a seat on the chair in front of her and motioned her towards him.

"I'm so sorry" she said, slowly lowering herself into his lap. On the rare instances she had found herself in this position, Hotch had never used an implement on her. However, she always knew it could be much worse. Even though her colleagues rarely talked about their own experiences, she had seen Reid sit, albeit uncomfortably, through briefings that had him shifting his weight endlessly.

"Lower those too" Hotch told her. Garcia was mortified, and it took her a minute to process the order. "I'm so sorryyy. What I did was reckless, I know. But I've learned. I really, really have. You don't have to do this" She pleaded. She could only imagine how much it would hurt.

"You don't think it's fair? I got a bigger paddle if you don't agree" He restated. In reality, this was the only implement he had, but he figured the team didn't have to know that.

Without answering, she undid her skirt and undergarments just enough to feel the cool air on her bare behind.

Hotch hesitated. It truly pained him doing this, but he couldn't afford to have his team running around doing whatever they pleased. He barely lifted the paddle but delivered the first smack with force. It took only a couple of seconds for Garcia to feel the pain, but by the time she felt it more smacks began raining down on her unprotected behind.

It was long before the sting had built up to where she tried to reach back and protect herself.

"Owww… please, Hotch! I think I'm going to get sensory damage or something I really can't PLEASEEE" she begged while he gently pinned her hand behind her back.

Usually, the begging went right over his head and he also knew Garcia tended to blow things up, but her words made him doubt himself. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

"Garcia, am I hurting you?"

"Um YA" She blurted out, which made him feel exasperated. "Am I hurting you enough to cause permanent damage? The last thing I want to do is injure you" He told her.

Garcia hesitated. She hated this as much as anyone, but she also hated lying. Especially to her colleagues.

"No…" she said softly, almost in a whisper. Not missing a beat, he kept smacking until Garcia's backside was a defined red and she was sobbing. He knew she didn't require an extended punishment, as say, her closest agent would.

"I'm sorry" she babbled. "Never again, Garcia. Got it?"

"YES I do, I'm so sorry, Hotch" She said. He gave her three last smacks before replying.

"Good. And you can call me Aaron." He said while putting the small object aside and giving her soothing pats.

"I'm so sorry" She said. "I know. You've told me. It's all forgiven" He reassured her.

Once calm, she lifted herself up and he turned around for modesty. With her clothes back in place, he got up as well and opened his arms for a voluntary hug, which Garcia accepted gladly. He knew this step was important, but didn't want to force her to it. Although he had yet to have an agent refuse a hug.

"I think the whole team is gone by now. Go clean up in the restroom and if you would like, you can come over to my house for dinner. Rossi is there preparing something for Jack and I can join him and make a full meal." He offered. "Babysitter had to leave early" He explained.

Garcia _was_ starving, but she also felt extremely tired. "I know Rossi's better but I promise I'm a good cook" He cajoled, noticing her hesitation. She smiled back through dried tears on her face and had no choice but to accept.

"Fine. But I won't stay for long. And I'm not sitting" She stated, firm in her conditions. "Perfectly fine" He replied.

"I'll head out in 5. I'll see you there. Lasagna still your favorite?" He questioned, having known her computer whiz for a while. Garcia nodded. "Good, because that's what I told Rossi to make." He told her, which slowly made her feel better again. She was about thank him when Hotch added, "Oh and, trust me, it wasn't easy, but we're keeping the tablets"

"Oh, REALLY? That's like, super amazing! We're gonna save sooo much paper and everything's just gonna be like ten times faster!" She said, lighting up with a smile only an excited child could give. Just minutes before she was convinced that they would have to go back to paper copies. She saw Hotch smile briefly as well before making her way to the restroom.

Suddenly, she felt a little dizzy and her nose was stuffy, but she also felt grateful for good people and good food.


End file.
